Sat, April 27, 2013 8:00 pm at Alwan for the Arts

Members of the Alwan Arab Music Ensemble return with captivating singer George Ziadeh to perform timeless pieces from the golden age of Arab music, including folk songs of Syria and muwashshahat, in addition to Egyptian Adder, and the beloved songs of Umm Kulthoum.

Featuring:

George Ziadeh – vocals, ‘oud

Sami Abu Shumays – violin

Johnny Farraj – riqq

Tickets: $20 General $15 for Students, Members and Seniors available at the door or online.

(*A small online fee is applied - use printout as your ticket)

Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

George Ziadeh was born and raised in Birzeit, Palestine, and pursued music from a young age. In 1986 he moved to the United States, where he studied ‘oud with Simon Shaheen and classical singing and voice with Youssef Kassab, with whom he has toured extensively across the country. George has performed and lectured with such ensembles and institutions as the University of Chicago’s Middle East Music Ensemble with Issa Boulos, the University of Colorado (Boulder), Alwan for the Arts, the United Nations (invited by Kofi Annan), and annually at the Columbia University Department of Ethnomusicology. In 2008, George was a featured solo and ensemble performer in the “Brooklyn Maqam” Festival of Arab Music. From 1995 to 1997 George taught at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah and at Birzeit University. George is considered an authority in maqam and Arab classical repertoire.

Sami Abu Shumays, is an accomplished violinist and vocalist in the modern pan-Arab maqam tradition and founder and director of the ensemble Zikrayat, a tight knit, small scale Arabic orchestra devoted to original reinterpretations of the iconic, post-Ottoman popular repertoire of early- to mid- 20th Century Egypt and the Levant.

Johnny Farraj has studied riqq (Egyptian tambourine) and frame drum with Karim Nagi and Fairuz's percussionist Michel Merhej, both featured in Brooklyn Maqam. He also studied oud with Simon Shaheen and Bassam Saba, and classical Arab singing with Rima Khcheich and Youssef Kassab. As a percussionist, he has performed with Simon Shaheen/ Qantara and Amir ElSaffar, and attends the Arabic Music Retreat annually.